Seat belt systems that are used to provide passenger restraint in a vehicle typically include a belt, a buckle, a latch and a retractor. When deployed through engagement of the latch and buckle, the seat belt system forms what is commonly known as a three-point restraint in that the latch secures a passenger to a seat at three locations: at one shoulder and on both sides of the waist. End locations of the seat belt system that generally correspond to these three points are often secured to rigid vehicular structure, such as floors, roofs, pillars or the like. During periods where the seat belt system is not in use, the belt and the attached latch are often vertically stored in a partially-taut retracted position along a piece of trim garnish that, in turn, may provide an aesthetic cover for an adjacent B-pillar, C-pillar or D-pillar. In this retracted position, the latch may be prone to making intermittent contact with the adjacent garnish in response to vibrations produced by movement during periods of vehicular operation. This contact in turn creates undesirable noise in the passenger compartment.
Prior attempts at avoidance of such noise have not been wholly satisfactory. For example, an additional retention piece in the form of a hook, clip or the like may be placed along the garnish to provide some measure of belt or latch vibration reduction. In addition to only being partially effective at reducing the noise associated with latch knocking, it is visually unappealing, and further increases manufacturing cost and complexity. In another conventional form, a conformal rubber or plastic piece may be added in or around the location on the garnish that is adjacent the latch, the intent being to at least partially dampen the knocking by having the metal latch contact a more compliant conformal piece during excessive vibrations. As with the previous approach, this approach further increases manufacturing cost and complexity. In yet another form, an over-molded layer of compliant material (such as the previously-mentioned rubber or plastic) may be placed around a significant portion of the latch, leaving only the remote tongue exposed. The efficacy of such an approach to achieve a significant measure of noise reduction has been shown to be at best modest, while—as with the other two approaches—involves increased manufacturing cost and complexity.